1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of coating applicator processes and, in particular, to a coating process for repairing coating requiring a very precise thickness.
2. Description of Related Art
In most instances, the thickness of a painted coating is not critical; the principle issue is complete covering of the surface. Thus repair is a simple matter; one need only clean up the repair and re-coat with a brush or roller. However, if the coating thickness is critical, then such repairs become difficult, especially in the field. For example, Radar Absorbing Material (RAM) coatings are held to a precise thickness in order to insure that radar signals of a particular frequency of interest are absorbed. These coating are applied by spray guns in order to insure that the proper thickness is applied. Often, several passes are made, requiring the testing of absorption properties between each pass.
Thus it is obvious that repair of such RAM coatings in the field is a difficult process. While portable handheld RAM coating testing apparatus is available, spray-coating equipment may not be readily available. Proper thickness has been obtained using rollers or paintbrushes, but is a time consuming process involving a lot of trial and error. This is because the required ratio of solvent to resin is significantly different when using a roller in stead of a spraying machine.
Thus, it is a primary object of the invention to provide a process for repairing coatings having a precise thickness.
It is another primary object of the invention to provide a process for repairing coatings having a precise thickness using scapulas and rollers.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a process for repairing RAM coatings having a precise thickness that does not effect the radar absorbing properties of the coating.